Won’t acquire land by force for second airport, Mamata tells Scindia

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday contended that her government would never acquire land by force as she hit out at Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who said that the plan to build a second airport here was hanging fire for want of a plot. Scindia, during a press meet on Sunday, said the Centre has plans to build a second airport in Kolkata, but the Mamata Banerjee government was yet to provide land for it Banerjee, in reply, said, “They need 1,000 acres for another airport in Kolkata. Should I bulldoze existing houses?

Shall I evict people residing in those houses? Is it possible? We can’t just forcibly evict people. “The minister should not politicise such matters. I will not allow another Singur and Nandigram (evictions) to take place,” she told reporters.

Banerjee said her government has already allotted land for the third runway at the existing airport.

“There are airports in Cooch Behar, Malda, but they are devoid of regional connectivity. There is also an airport in Andal. We can work only when we have land. Please ask the minister to provide us with 1,000 acres. We won’t go for forcible land acquisition. It is not our policy,” she said.

Scindia had claimed that he has been seeking a dialogue with the chief minister for six months for setting up a second airport in the city since the existing one has reached its capacity, but there has been no response from the her side so far. PTI PNT RMS RMS